Mission Work

June was a big month for the prayer warriors in our family, as many of our high school and college friends embarked on summer mission trips to Costa Rica, Africa, Belize, Slovakia and New Orleans. Our family financially supports many Christian missionaries each year, as they travel to reach others with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Along with financial support, we feel it even more important to earnestly and fervently pray for these young people and their groups as they travel. 

I have to admit that I didn't grow up in a mission-minded church or a mission-minded family. Sure, we went to church each Sunday and came to know and love the Lord on our own, living good, honest, wholesome lives, but sharing our faith with others, evangelizing, was simply not done. Rather, faith was a private matter between the believer and God. My memory is peppered with only a couple youth group trips we took to impoverished local areas, where we brought families Thanksgiving turkeys and clothes for their children. I remember enjoying these small trips, wanting to serve others, but the opportunities were too few and far between.

Fortunately, God always knows exactly what we need and as He has worked in our family's lives, we are so very blessed that He whispered us into a remarkable, dynamic church 4 years ago. This church, CCV, truly emphasizes the importance of sharing the gospel with those who are lost and encourages even the smallest believer to impact the world for Christ. This speaks directly to my heart as I realize the importance of raising Christ-centered kids, which in our world today, is a mighty undertaking that requires daily cultivation, full-time attention, lots of love and others, who are willing to walk alongside our kids.

Some time ago, my dear friend sent me the book, Radical, by David Platt. If you have not read it, you should. Our entire staff at school is now reading it and I am grateful that our kids are part of such a Christ-centered, mission-focused school. As I read through this challenging book, there were many times I was convicted. There were many times that I was so convicted that I had to stop reading. Were we as Christians supposed to live our comfortable Christian lives, among our like-minded Christian friends and leave mission work to others?  Or, like it says in Matthew 28, were all Christians called to be disciples and go forth spreading the Good News of the gospel, to leave our comfort zones and witness to the lost? This was not the feel-good message I was expecting, the pat-on-the-back atta girl for my work as a Christian wife and mother. No, the author's message, the message in Matthew 28, is the same message as the mission statement of our church....Win, Train, Send. Win people to Christ, train them to be disciples and send them out into the world to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.  

Personally, I'm fine with the win, train part. It's the send part that scares me. My flesh is exposed and my inadequacies glare. Silently, I battle on with God and He knows my heart. He is patient and He loves me, He knows the weakness and fear of my flesh. He continues to cultivate my servant heart, slowly, in His time and I am grateful.

My friend reminds me, as we speak about the book, that the author is not saying that we necessarily must travel to other countries to witness, but that we can witness in our own communities, neighboring areas, wherever we are. This is still uncomfortable, unnatural to me. My husband is much better at all of this than I am. It's been amazing to see how many people he has invited to church over the past four years. Our children, also, have been amazing witnesses in their own ways. 

So, as our family has prayed for the missionary work our friends set out to do in June, I have reflected on our kids' hearts - how they serve and want to serve. Sierra has been blessed with a most amazing Christian mentor, leader and friend in Randall. Over the past four years, Randall has been such a blessing, not only to Sierra, who is still a part of his very special God Squad small-group Bible study that he hosts each week in his home, but Randall has been a blessing and a mentor to all of us over the past four years. As he has walked alongside our kids, leading Buck in scripture memorization and helping Sierra develop her personal relationship with Christ, I am eternally grateful for friends like Randall who speak truth to our kids and challenge them to step out of their comfort zones for Christ. Both Sierra and Buck express interest in doing mission work far from home, which I intend to support. Last week, our boys spent time with their friend, Isaiah, writing scripture verses and tucking them into brown paper snack bags to pass out to the homeless and picking up roadside trash after church. Audra, who is a YoungLife leader, spent a week in June away at camp, witnessing to middle school girls. She came home so excited that all of the girls in her cabin accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior and she has texted them a Bible verse and an encouraging message each day since they arrived home. How precious it is to see her in her Bible each morning, searching scripture for just the right encouragement or challenge to send out to her girls.

The other day, after leaving the gym, I told Wade that we needed to walk to a nearby store and invite someone to church.  We had purchased a mattress set from a guy several months ago and he made some mistakes figuring the cost of our set. After agreeing on a price, we came back to sign the papers and order the bed. As we walked in, he nervously explained his accounting error and after speaking with his boss, told us that he could not honor our agreed upon price. We spent some time thinking about it and ended up buying the set from him, despite his error.  Since then, every time he sees us, he comments on how grateful he is that we worked through the pricing problem and how he almost lost his job over the mistake.

One night, we stopped in after the gym and his wife was there picking him up. They were upset about something and we kept our trip short, sensing their conflict. The last time we stopped in, to check on some sheets that had not yet been delivered, his wife was sitting outside in the car waiting for him. As we spoke to him, he explained that he was excited to be going to a heavy metal concert the next day and could not wait to meet the band with his backstage pass. Wade asked if he was going with his wife and he said that she only loves going to Amy Grant concerts. We got the immediate picture during this discussion that she was a believer and he was not. As we walked out with our sheets that night, I asked his wife about her faith. It was a big reach for me, but as I asked her questions I watched her light up talking about how much she missed being part of a church. I talked with her about the community of faith where we belonged, the music, the message, that all were welcome. She talked about her and her husband's differences and how, after hearing about our church, he might be open to going to our church. New to the area, she said that she had really been praying to find a church to be part of, but didn't know where to go or who to talk to. She felt like our conversation was a direct answer to her prayer. It felt good to share my faith with someone who needed to hear about God's truth and the hope that only He can provide.

We walked back over the mattress store the other day and our friend was there. Immediately, I stepped right out of my comfort zone and boldly invited him to church with us. He said that his wife could not stop talking about our recent conversation and after thinking about it, he'd be willing to check it out. 

My friend is right, we can do mission work right in our own back yards.